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The Illinois Department of Transportation is urging the public to take advantage of its winter road conditions website before traveling

(Washington-jm) – Illinois is set to receive more than a quarter of a billion dollars in grants from the federal government to expand the reaches of broadband internet in the state. In a news conference hosted by the White House Tuesday, federal officials announced Illinois has been approved to receive $253 million from the American Rescue Plan Act to offer broadband internet. In addition to the ARPA funds, Illinois is also getting an additional $6,515,352.64 from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act to expand Internet access and digital equity in the state.

 

(Springfield-jm) – The Illinois Department of Transportation is urging the public to take advantage of its winter road conditions website before traveling. With the first major snowstorm of the season on the way, IDOT’s Paul Wappel recommends checking: getting around illinois dot com…

 

 

IDOT Spokesperson Paul Wappel. Wappel says families should also make sure their car is well stocked with emergency supplies like blankets, a windshield scraper, flares, a flashlight and first aid kit. A winter storm watch will kick in tomorrow and run through Saturday morning. Snow amounts of 2-6 inches is possible with wind gusts over 50 mph is possible. Another major part of this system is the frigid and possibly record temperatures. Daytime highs are expected to be in the single digits with lows below zero. Combine that with the winds and weather forecasters say wind chill or real feel temperatures could be as low as 30 below zero.

 

(Springfield-jm) – Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul wants the public to watch out for online scammers. The holidays are a time ripe for scams, says Attorney General Raoul. He recommends making sure retail websites are the real deal and checking reviews of the businesses before placing an order…

 

 

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul. Raoul says you should also be careful making payments to people you don’t know through apps like Venmo or Paypal since you won’t have the same level of protection as credit cards. 

 

(Rantoul-jm) – The Rantoul Police Department and US Marshalls Fugitive Apprehension Unit arrested two Champaign juveniles, ages 14 and 16, on Tuesday for the offenses of murder and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.  The arrests come as a result of the ongoing investigation in connection to the shooting death of 34-year-old DeCarlo Douglas of Urbana, in Rantoul on November 20.

 

(Champaign-jm) – Champaign Police are asking for the community’s help in finding the person who robbed a bank. The robbery happened at First Financial Bank located at 1205 South Neil Street. Officers responded there and learned that a suspect had entered the bank, displayed a note that indicated they were armed and demanded money. The suspect then left with an undisclosed amount of money. There were no injuries and no evidence that a gun was ever displayed or fired.

 

(Champaign-jm) –  A Champaign man is facing drug and gun charges. Jordan Johnson was arrested by the Champaign County Street Crimes Task Force following a court authorized search of the home he shares with his girlfriend, her children and sister. Police say he allegedly sold cocaine and fentanyl to a person working with police. The search turned up 30 grams of cocaine with a street value of $3,000; a 9 mm handgun and ammunition; a bottle containing 28 pills believed to be fentanyl and a digital scale. Johnson is charged with possession with intent to deliver cocaine, possession of cocaine, unlawful use of weapons by a felon and violation of his sex offender registration. He is due back in court January 4th.

 

(Washington-jm) – How did the tradition of the Christmas tree get started? Here is one of several possible theories. Gary Crawford reports…

 

 

(Kankakee-jm) – The state's controversial SAFE-T Act is set to end cash bail for many crimes in Illinois January 1. Tuesday, a Kankakee County judge heard arguments in a lawsuit challenging the measure. Kankakee County State's Attorney Jim Rowe argued the SAFE-T Act is unconstitutional because it violates the state's single-subject law, which confines legislation to only one subject. In addition, he argued that the whole measure is invalid because a provision related to redistricting maps is included. Darren Kinkead, who argued on behalf of the state, claimed the measure does not violate any single-subject laws because the redistricting is about prisoners and would be included as a part of the criminal justice system. The judge said he would render a decision in this case by December 28, just days before no-cash bail takes effect.

 

(Springfield-jm) – Hearings continue on the proposed ban on assault weapons. A House committee heard from law enforcement leaders about how officers are outmanned compared to criminals with assault-style firearms. Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart…

 

 

Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart. Opponents testified that the legislation is unconstitutional, including the portion that raises the age to get a FOID card from 18 to 21. They say that means a 20 year old can’t hunt without adult supervision.

 

(Washington-jm) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced an investment of $9.5 million to support the scale-up of sustainable bioproduct manufacturing in the United States. The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign was one of the awardees. U of I was awarded for a project that proposes to convert swine manure and other organic feedstocks into bio binders for asphalt that increase the quality of recycled asphalt pavements. If commercialized, benefits include reduced landfill waste, reduced disposal costs for asphalt and food waste, and low-cost products.

 

(Springfield-jm) – This holiday season, Illinois Treasurer Mike Frerichs is suggesting the gift of a college education for the children in your life. Opening or contributing to a Bright Start 529 College Savings account is a great alternative to toys that will quickly be tossed aside, says Treasurer Frerichs…

 

 

State Treasurer Mike Frerichs. Anyone can open an account so it’s a great gift from grandparents, aunts, uncles and more, says Frerichs. He notes that a child is three times more likely to attend college if they know they have a savings account to help cover costs.

 

(Savoy-jm) – The Champaign County Sheriff's Office is seeking public assistance in solving a retail theft and battery to a store employee at the Walmart in Savoy. 

On December 15, a suspect entered Walmart, placed a hoverboard and scooter into a cart, and started walking toward the exit. An employee asked the unknown suspect for a receipt and the unknown suspect ran out of the store with the items. The employee followed the suspect into the parking lot and took pictures of the unknown suspect. Officials say once the suspect realized the employee was using their cellphone to take pictures of him, the suspect battered the employee and stole the employee's phone. 

 

(Urbana-jm) – The University of Illinois Police Department reported that two new students were collectively scammed out of more than $230,000 in recent months. Officials said in the first scam, a student received a call from an unknown person who, impersonating a representative from a parcel delivery company, claimed the company had a package containing illegal items that was addressed to the student. The student was told that he needed to pay $100,000 to avoid prosecution from a foreign police department. The second student reported being called by an unknown person who claimed a phone number connected to the student was involved in sending fraudulent messages and she needed to report it to a foreign police department. The student then spoke several times with someone posing as a foreign police officer, who threatened the student with extradition and the freezing of her parents’ assets if she didn’t deposit money in a foreign bank account. The student proceeded to wire $110,000 to the account.

 

(Sibley-jm) – A Ford County wind farm has been sold, as the former developer is looking to build another wind farm in Piatt County. During questioning by the Piatt County Zoning Board of Appeals, developers acknowledged they no longer owned the wind farm near Sibley after they were asked what the safety procedures were for that particular wind farm. Earlier this year, Ares Management Corp., headquartered in Los Angeles, acquired a majority stake in Apex Clean Energy. In May, Orsted agreed to acquire Ford County Wind from funds managed by Ares. Orsted is a Danish multinational power company based in Fredericia, Denmark. The 121-megawatt, 43-turbine wind farm was built near Sibley.

 

(Washington-jm) – Milk production this year is running just a bit higher than a year ago at this time. Gary Crawford reports…

 

 

(Rantoul–jc)  –  It’s Christmastime and we asked area leaders what is on their Christmas Wish List.  Community Service Center Executive Director Cindy Crawford provides a wish for the Rantoul based center…

 

 

Community Service Center of Rantoul Executive Director Cindy Crawford

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